Argue About Tactics, But Give Clear Slogans!

Published:Proletary, No. 18, September 26 (13), 1905.

      Published according to the text inProletary.Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      Progress Publishers,1972,

      Moscow,Volume 9,

      pages262-264.Translated:The Late Abraham Fineberg and Julius KatzerTranscription\Markup:R. CymbalaPublic Domain:Lenin Internet Archive

      (2004).You may freely copy, distribute,
	display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and
	commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet
	Archive” as your source.•README

Theargument about the tactics in respect of the State Duma is becoming more and
more heated. The differences betweenIskraandProletaryare
becoming ever deeper, especially since Parvus’s article inIskra.

Tacticsmust be debated, but in this the utmost clarity must be striven
for. Questions of tactics are questions of the Party’s political conduct. A line
of conduct canand shouldbe grounded in theory, in historical
references, in an analysis of the entire political situation, etc. But in all
these discussions the party of a class engaged in a struggle should never lose
sight of the need for absolutely clear answers—whichdo not permit of
a double interpretation—toconcrete questions of our political
conduct: “yes” or “no”? Should this or that be done right now, at
the given moment, or should it not be done?

Suchclear replies are essential to prevent differences from being exaggerated
or confused, and also to make definitely known to the working class the specific
kind of advice being offered it by this or that group of Social-Democrats at a
given moment.

Witha view to introducing complete clarity into our controversy withIskrawe have drawn up the following list of concrete questions
concerning the political conduct of the Social-Democrats in the present Duma
election campaign. We do not in the least claim that this list is complete, and
would welcome suggestions for amending, changing, or subdividing any of the
questions. It stands to reason that what is said here concerning election
meetings applies to all meetings in general.

1.Should workers endeavour to gain entry to election meetings?Iskra:YesProletary: Yes

2.Should workers endeavour to gain entry to election meetings even by force?Iskra: YesProletary: Yes

3.Should we speak at such meetings about the uselessness of the Duma and
   explain all the aims and the entire programme of Social-Democracy?Iskra: YesProletary: Yes

4.Should the workers and the people as a whole be called upon at such meetings
   to rise up in arms and form a revolutionary army and a provisional
   revolutionary government?Iskra: ?Proletary: Yes

5.Should these slogans (point 4) be made the focus of our whole
   “Duma” campaign?Iskra: NoProletary: Yes

6.ShouldOsvobozhdeniyeLeague members (or
“Constitutional-Democrats”) entering the State Duma be
   denounced as bourgeois traitors who are pursuing a policy of
   “compromise” with the tsar?Iskra: NoProletary: Yes

7.Should we Social-Democrats tell the people that it would be preferable to
   elect to the State Duma the Petrunkeviches rather than the Stakhoviches,
   etc.?Iskra: YesProletary: No

8.Should we conclude any agreement whatever with theOsvobozhdeniyeLeague on our support of the latter on the basis of certain conditions,
   demands, pledges, etc.?Iskra: YesProletary: No

9.Should we make the slogan of “revolutionary self-government” the
   central point of our agitation?Iskra: YesProletary: No

10.Should we call upon the people immediately to elect, on the basis of
    universal suffrage, bodies of revolutionary self-government and through
    these a constituent assembly?Iskra: YesProletary: No

11.Should we elect Social-Democratic election committees? Should we put up
    Social-Democratic candidates for the State Duma?Iskra: YesProletary: No